PSPredictions for 2007, as seen by PSP Fanboy
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Jan 2nd 2007 at 7:55PM }
PSP Fanboy has dusted off the crystal ball for another round of yearly predictions. The team was surprisingly accurate last time around; but then again, we all saw the UMD movie market collapse coming. This year the gang took a few more risks, anticipating a new PlayStation-branded portable device (not a PSP redesign) and a Microsoft franchise's appearance on PSP.The reckless forecasting is highlighted by one call in particular: "Expect tons of established franchises & far less original IPs." Yeah right, like that could ever happen! Those guys need to check their crystal ball for cracks ... Anyone else wanna play fortune-teller?
Get a WordPress.com Blog
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Dave @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:08PM
All sony needs to do is bring out Gran Turismo and Final Fantasy 7 with better graphics and they will sell every PSP
Mo @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:17PM
PSP will die a slow death in 2007.
Callandor @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:21PM
The PSP is a dying platform that will continue to get slaughtered by the DS worldwide. I don't expect to see many stellar games in the coming year for the PSP, and with the death of UMD, Sony only has sloppy ports and franchise titles to stand on. It's not looking pretty for the handheld's future.
Callandor @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:26PM
Oh, and I love how PSP Fanboy predicted that Microsoft franchises will appear on the PSP. The last thing that Microsoft would do is try and assist their main competitor gain sales. Besides, they have Rare working on DS games. It's going to be the exact opposite.
Defenestrator2.0 @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:38PM
The Microsoft (OMG, I DIDN'T USE A DOLLAR SIGN!) prediction is HIGHLY unlikely. The only reasons that those games came out on Nintendo systems are 1) Nintendo is not an immediate threat, and 2) Nintendo is more of an ally. It's as they say, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
As for established franchises on PSP, why bother if Sony is going to "release a successor to the PSP" as they say? They pretty much contradicted themselves. By the time that the game would be developed, the alleged new PSP would probably have already come out. It DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. Just like Chewbacca living on Endor. (Kudos to anybody who got that reference.)
parastumber @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:40PM
psp is awsome
i predict a 8gb flash
better sales it is doing pretty good already people thing it isnt due to ds sales owning charts but its beating 360 in some reagion and a number 2 or 3
and a super killer app in 07
metal gear in my oppinion
Lost Question @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:48PM
I'll give playing fortune-teller a shot.
I'm seeing a PSP 2.0 being designed but theres a crossroad between the PSP 2.0 and scraping it for more PS3 funding to try to liven sales up after most all developers get to annoyed with sony, ditch PS3 exclusives PS3 will be the like the N64, few good games that are far between and most games that fit into the good catagory will be split with (or ported from) the X-Box 360 and/or the Wii.
HD-DVD becomes standard.
Umm, Sony will deny that there is anything wrong to hold onto shareholders even after it passes the redline on funding for the PS3.
360 will take the spot held by the PS2.
Wii will be either close or tied with the 360.
There will be a PS4 and a X-Box 720, the PS4's life will be like that of the gamecube, and if MS is not arrogant the 720's sales may be like that of the X-Box, if MS becomes arrogent because of the 360's succes it will go the way of the N64 and PS3.
And Nintendo will continue to dominate the Handheld market.
Shane @ Jan 2nd 2007 8:49PM
Defenestrator2.0,
They predicted that the Playstation branded device would not play games. They say it will be a competitor to the iPod.
Major Bill @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:12PM
I expect the PSP to survive and keep the dust off of it with the downloadable content from the PS3 to the PSP.
I'm also guessing a lower price tag towards the end of the year, though not by much. I can only see a few solid games coming out for it, such as Rachet and Clank.
I hope I'm not getting to ahead of myself here, but I expect the PSP either to simmer out towards the end of 2008. Before or around that time, I (hope) to see a new PSP system, a new model, such as PSP2 if you want to call it that.
Other then that, I doubt the PSP can have a solid year like it had in 2006 with MGS:PO and other games. It will collect dust and only be taken out when that old hardcore gamer wants to download and relive Ridge Racer(!).
Joe @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:26PM
I just love how DS fanboys say the PSP sucks there are many great games on it and you can't say that is true.
I know it is not selling greater then the DS but as of right now it sells better then the 360 and the PS2 when it came out.
Little kids will never learn look at charts and you will see that for the Holidays the DS came in first place the PSP came in Second and the 360 came in third and the list goes on. So to say the PSP is Dead is funny when in real life it has a long life in head of it. But if you do not want to see that it does sell well that is fine by me.
DiahrreaMan @ Jan 2nd 2007 9:55PM
@ Joe
It's not just the fanboys, its the majority of people. The system itself doesn't suck, its the games because most are PS2 ports, aside from a few good games. (ex. Daxter, that mercury blob game, etc). If it wasn't so prone to getting hacked, maybe it'd do better. An example, (and I know it doesn't mean a thing) is my friend. He bought one at launch, and bought one game, Dynasty Warriors 4. After that, he bought himself a 1gig mem stick, hacked the firmware, and downloaded dumps onto his stick and never bought a game again. I remember a game he got once, I think it was called Exit, that was a fun game to play. Unfortunately, after a year, he bricked his PSP and that was the end of it. Another friend of mine bought one later on, and hacked it to play SNES games on it. It was awesome to play Earthbound in the middle of class. Unfortunately, he deleted his save file by mistake, got so pissed he sold his PSP the next day.
These are two examples from my experience, and I know they don't prove anything, but that people do have interest for the PSP, however many are turned off by the lackluster game lineup. And don't bring up the PS2 ports, those don't count. Call me a Ninty fanboy, whatever, I don't care
My two cents.
KingBroly @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:16PM
The DS Lite (Or the newest DS incarnation) will sell 1 million units in a single week in Japan.
Revo @ Jan 2nd 2007 10:39PM
"9. I expect the PSP to survive and keep the dust off of it with the downloadable content from the PS3 to the PSP."
I don't think this will be much of a factor in keeping the PSP afloat. What percentage of PSP owners do you think will (1) have a PS3, and (2) actually use this feature? My guess is the number is very small. Basically it may keep it alive as far as having games to play, but it certainly won't affect actual sales of the PSP.
samfish @ Jan 2nd 2007 11:29PM
I predict that the PSP's streak of suck will get so bad, we'll be nostalgic for the Virtual Boy by the end of the year.
Zebulunite @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:27AM
Mo (#2) : “PSP will die a slow death in 2007.”
Callandor (#3): “ The PSP is a dying platform that will continue to get slaughtered by the DS worldwide. I don't expect to see many stellar games in the coming year for the PSP, and with the death of UMD, Sony only has sloppy ports and franchise titles to stand on. It's not looking pretty for the handheld's future. “
samfish (#14): “I predict that the PSP's streak of suck will get so bad, we'll be nostalgic for the Virtual Boy by the end of the year.”
What the hell are you guys talking about? PSP's “streak of suck”!? The PSP just had its best year by far, with a stream of great titles being released these past few months. Just look at all of these media awards to the “dying” PSP:
UK Tech website The Register spoke about the PSP's success in 2006, nothing that although the PS3 came nowhere close to as successful as they thought, the PSP has been performing quite handily: "But with the PSP, Sony has outstripped Microsoft and its Xbox considerably." (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/22/2006_faultline_review/page2.html)
Gamestop awarded its “Best Platformer” award to Daxter, beating three DS games (http://www.gamespot.com/special_features/bestof2006/genre/index.html?page=5)
IGN declared that “This was one hell of a year for the PSP. There were so many quality titles for the system that nearly every award was an extremely close call. Indeed, of all the PlayStation awards that we gave out this year, few were as tight as most every PSP selection. To say it was a fantastic year for the system would be a rather large understatement.
Lovers of every genre saw strong support with extremely high quality games in 2006. Action fans saw the release of titles like Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and Killzone: Liberation. Fighting fans were treated to Tekken: Dark Resurrection. Racing fans were appeased with Codemasters' Race Driver 2006 and a couple really good ATV titles. And with games like LocoRoco, the PSP proved that it has enough original and unique content to stand toe-to-toe with any touchy systems out there.
If 2006 is any indication of what we'll see in 2007, then we can safely say the PSP is in full swing as a mature system. “
Gamesrader gave the PSP the “it doesn't actually suck” award, noting that “There seems to be a general consensus these days - not helped by Sony's own very loud, very terrible missteps - that the PSP is spiraling around the bowl. Why? We're gamers. We should care about one thing: games.
How does Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops sound? What about Sony's best in-house argument for the PSP, LocoRoco? If not, how about its Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and Killzone: Liberation? The twin trips of Every Extend Extra and Lumines II? There are even more originals based on hugely popular series that can stand on their own: Vice City Stories, Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, Me & My Katamari and Daxter. And don't forget the quirky (but quality) Exit (we know you did.)
Yeah, the PSP is weighed down by ports of bad PS2 games, but what about ports of great games? We're talking Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth and Mega Man: Powered Up. More classics were also reborn this year: Sonic Rivals, Bomberman, Mega Man: Maverick Hunter X and Lemmings... the list keeps going.
This is a bad system?”
And Callandor, look look here at all of the games set to be released on the PSP in 2007: (http://www.pspfanboy.com/2006/12/26/games-to-look-forward-to-in-2007/#comments), while Pocketgamer.co.uk predicted that 2007 will be the best year yet for the PSP.
So come on guys, really. What is with this blatant fanboyism of all sorts that I regularly see on this site? Why can't gamers just accept that the DS and PSP are BOTH great handhelds, that BOTH have great game libraries (the DS and PSP having and equal number of editor's choice games at IGN), and BOTH have bright futures ahead of them? And samfish, come on, PSP WORSE than the Virtual Boy? That is such utter fanboy BS that I can't see how anyone here could have any respect for you.
Zebulunite @ Jan 3rd 2007 12:32AM
Whoops, I forgot the GamesRader link: (http://www.gamesradar.com/us/psp/game/news/article.jsp?articleId=20061222102721204040&releaseId=20060313155021903080§ionId=1006&pageId=20061222105644253047)
Shagi @ Jan 3rd 2007 1:44AM
You will be able to play your PS3 games on your PSP from anywhere in the world with a broadband connection.
Dig.
Mof @ Jan 3rd 2007 8:22AM
That Zeb knows what he's talking about. There's enough room in this world for non-Nintendo handhelds.
My predictions? Following the PS1 hack for PSP, that lets you play ANY PS1 game on PSP, Sony will give up trying to sell the games, and instead release some legal means to let you rip your own PS1 library onto your PSP.
A PSP with both flash memory and UMD drive seems likely as well (and hell, let's throw in a touch screen while we're at it).
n3rrd @ Jan 3rd 2007 8:53AM
Did you really just cite The Register? What's next? The Inquirer?
Field Anony-mouse @ Jan 3rd 2007 9:42AM
18. "My predictions? Following the PS1 hack for PSP, that lets you play ANY PS1 game on PSP, Sony will give up trying to sell the games, and instead release some legal means to let you rip your own PS1 library onto your PSP."
Um, this is Sony we're talking about. The company who would rather install rootkits on computers than let people rip the music they legally bought and put it on their MP3 player. Hell will freeze over long before Sony allows people to legally rip their games onto the PSP.
crono141 @ Jan 3rd 2007 10:43AM
Zebulunite,
If this is the best year for the PSP, then it really is in trouble. Not because it got great games, but because nobody gave a damn.
Look at sales charts. We're not comparing the PSP to the original Xbox, which isn't even a direct competitor. We're comparing it to the DS, its direct competitor. And lets face it, PSP vs DS is a one sided battle, and the PSP is the loser.
ackmondual @ Jan 3rd 2007 3:18PM
@ #10 & Zebulunite
no1 is saying (or should be saying) that PSP sucks. If they are, i'm sure it's only in comparison to the DS. Do keep in mind Sony did say "we don't care what Nintendo is doing" with the DS, so it was a bit arrogant on Sony's part (not that Nin wasn't guilty of this).
.
@ #18
it would make more sense to add a 2nd analog stick, or speaker grill nub, or whatever you call it for better compatilibility and gameplay with PS2 ports
Zebulunite @ Jan 3rd 2007 9:20PM
“21. Zebulunite,
If this is the best year for the PSP, then it really is in trouble. Not because it got great games, but because nobody gave a damn.
Look at sales charts. We're not comparing the PSP to the original Xbox, which isn't even a direct competitor. We're comparing it to the DS, its direct competitor. And lets face it, PSP vs DS is a one sided battle, and the PSP is the loser. “
Yeah...PSP is behind the DS, and therefore is the “loser” if your comparing hardware or software sales, but I wouldn't say being the loser in this case makes it “in trouble”. The Gamecube was well behind the PS2 all of its life, by a even wider ratio, and yet Nintendo made money off of it, and the system had several good years. And with PSP hardware sales in two years nearly as high as Xbox or Gamecube sales in four years, I think it's absurd to say that “nobody gives a damn”. People might give less a damn for the PSP than the DS, but I think it nevertheless is well established on the market
I feel that PSP will wind up the same way: the second best selling handheld that nevertheless is a profitable venture for Sony, both in providing revenue to help with the PS3, and in establishing Sony as a legitimate player in the handheld market (much as the similarly “loser” Xbox did for Microsoft).
And I don't think that the PSP is “really in trouble” this year. The best evidence I can site is the very fact that the PSP has a great game library already, with plenty of quality games planned for 2007. Developers make their lives on developing games, and certainly wouldn't risk their financial well-being en mass on a platform in dire trouble.
Going along with that, another interesting tidbit I noticed from a previous post discussing Capcom internal stats on games sales and production (http://www.joystiq.com/2006/12/27/more-capcom-games-on-xbox-360-than-ps3-and-wii-in-07/#comments) is that the PSP has a greater share of titles than the DS in ALL sections of Capcom's “number of titles released” graph, and a greater share than ANY platform other than the PS2 in 2006/3, 2006/9 and 2007/3. (Granted, at the same time, this does make sense, as DS has a far greater first party to third party games ratio than the PSP. Thus, while the DS has a greater share of the market, the PSP might actually offer third party developers more sales).
Looking at the second graph in the link (http://ir.capcom.co.jp/english/data/title.html), the PSP is also second only to the PS2 in total unites shipped in 2006/3 and 2007/3, losing by 100,000 (1,000,000 X360 vs. 900,000 PSP) to the Xbox 360 in 2006/9. Confirming my thoughts (at least for Capcom) that despite the DS's larger marketshare, it nets less sales for third party's due to the dominance of Nintendo's games, the PSP is significantly ahead of the DS at all points on either graph.
“22. @ #10 & Zebulunite
no1 is saying (or should be saying) that PSP sucks. If they are, i'm sure it's only in comparison to the DS. Do keep in mind Sony did say "we don't care what Nintendo is doing" with the DS, so it was a bit arrogant on Sony's part (not that Nin wasn't guilty of this). “
I wouldn't argue that Sony was arrogant to some extent, although I think, as you said, Nintendo was arrogant as well (basically saying the same thing in response). Ultimately, I think the PSP has done very well against a market that Nintendo utterly dominated (probably having 99% of the market prior to the PSP). While people (not that I'm saying you're saying this) like to say that the PSP is a failure because, unlike the PS1 and PS2, they fail to point out that the PSP is the only console Sony has launched into a market dominated by a monopoly player. The very fact that the PSP could sell a bit over half the hardware so far as the DS is incredible when you consider that the PSP costs significantly more than the DS, and that no competitor to Nintendo has ever come close.